Aug. 23, 2013 at 9:23am
City Manager's Update 8/23/13

Development Services

· The single largest development project currently under construction in Puyallup is the “Port 167” industrial park, located on the south side of Valley Avenue NW, in the vicinity of the Valley Avenue bridge into Fife. Approved earlier this year, this project will eventually total approximately 650,000 square feet of new industrial space, in two large buildings, on a 33.6 acre site. With construction permits issued earlier this summer, major site work is now underway, with vertical building construction to begin later this year. The foundation for the first of these structures, prior to pouring of the concrete slab, is evident in the upper part of this photo. Trammell Crow Company, a national corporation with regional offices in Seattle, is the developer of this project.

· City planner Katie Baker was recently elected to a regional professional post. The state chapter of the American Planning Association has a “Young Planners Group”, which exists to encourage professional development and networking among land use planners under age 40. Earlier this month, Katie was elected, through a regional voting process, as the Pierce County representative to this group.

New Equipment in Public Works

The stormwater division of Public Works recently took delivery of a new jetter/vactor truck. The new truck will replace the jetter/vactor that was purchased in 2002. The truck is used to clean 5711 catch basins, 352 manholes and 136 miles of stormwater pipe. This is a very important piece of equipment that keeps our stormwater system operating at its maximum design efficiency and helps ensure that the City is in compliance with our National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit.

2015 Comprehensive Plan Survey Results

The City’s Comprehensive Plan is a key document which contains the vision for how Puyallup will grow into the future. As a part of this summer’s kick-off to our big 2015 Comprehensive Plan update, public input on long-term community priorities was solicited using an online survey. Over 165 people responded to this survey, which asked for citizen input on a number of qualities and challenges facing Puyallup today and in the future. Overall, survey respondents were very positive about Puyallup; some key findings from this survey include:

· Over 85% of the respondents rate Puyallup as a good or excellent place to live and raise a family; · Traffic was listed as the #1 challenge facing Puyallup, followed by “economic development”; · When asked to look forward and rate what are the most important attributes looking towards Puyallup in 2035, “great schools” was rated highest, followed by parks and recreational activities, maintaining a “family-friendly” environment, and having healthy local food/shopping.

A full summary of the survey results is available on the City website; interested parties are encouraged to remain active in this Comprehensive Plan update, which will continue through mid-2015. The City Planning Commission will be the primary forum for work on this Plan update over the next two years, with City Council input throughout.

Back to School Traffic Safety Emphasis

The Puyallup Police Department will conduct a special traffic safety emphasis around local schools the first two and half weeks of school, to target speed and pedestrian safety violations in our school zones. Officers will patrol areas around the schools at arrival and dismal times. All schools will receive some attention during the emphasis with additional time and resources devoted to school zones that have a history of collisions and/or traffic violations. In addition to enforcement activities, the department will also be educating the public about the need to pay extra attention around the schools during times that school is in session. Officers will hand out informational brochures on traffic stops and information will also be available on the city website.

Reaching out to Private Providers of Fair Parking

For the past few years, the City of Puyallup has worked to get safety tips, licensing information, and best parking practices to those who use private property to park cars during the Western Washington Fair. This year, we’re using some new tools to spread the word: The City of Puyallup Facebook and Twitter accounts. Those who provide fair parking can find the same great resources on our website. Fair parking providers have been encouraged (via email) to verify that their site is displayed on the City of Puyallup’s interactive map of fair parking locations. If you know of someone who has not signed up to be listed on our fair parking location map, it’s not too late: Sign up here.

Community Campout at Bradley Lake Park

Puyallup Recreation held its 5th annual Community Campout on August 10th & 11th at Bradley Lake Park, with almost 500 campers in attendance. Storehouse Church provided hot dogs and s’mores, lawn games were available throughout the park, and craft projects were provided by a local Girl Scout Troop and the volunteer organization “Up with People.” The movie “Hotel Transylvania” was a huge hit and the weather held out all evening. Top Foods sponsored the continental breakfast on Sunday morning. The Recreation Department would like to thank all of the event sponsors and the Puyallup Police Explorers for providing security for the fifth consecutive year.

Captain Engle speaks to the Friends of the Riverwalk Trail

Captain Scott Engle was the guest speaker at the Friends of the Riverwalk Trail meeting on Monday, August 5th. Captain Engle spoke to the group on trail safety and general police department activities, and answered questions from the group.

Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP) Activities Summer 2013

· Pilot testing of dewatering machinery, which is used to remove water from stabilized sewage solids, continues as a rotary press, manufactured by Fournier, was tested in mid-August. A dewatering centrifuge, manufactured by Andritz, will be pilot tested at the end of the month. These devices use long chain molecules - electrically-charged chemical polymers - to aggregate stabilized solids and then mechanically remove water in order to reduce transport cost.

· The year-long Electrical Improvements and Flooding Mitigation Project moves ahead with the installation of electrical conduit to the electrical load centers of the Water Pollution Control Plant.

· Protective coating work continues with sandblasting and priming of the 110’ diameter Secondary Clarifier No. 2 rotating mechanism and removal of influent screw pumps from their channels. The Screw Pumps are 5.5’ in diameter, 47’ long, and weigh 11,300 pounds each. Each pump is capable of pumping approximately 10 million gallons a day. The ferrous metal screws and concrete channels are attacked by gases and acids that commonly form in sewer systems; thus the protective coating helps extend the lifecycle of this impressive equipment.

Puyallup Radio System Upgrade

The $3 million South Sound 911 investment into the Puyallup radio system upgrade is well underway and has nearly completed its detailed design review. The upgraded infrastructure has been ordered so the system can be staged and tested at the Motorola factory along with Tacoma’s system in mid-September. After staging in mid-September, deployment work will begin at each of the five radio sites in our system.

SRO participates on School Safety Advisory Committee

PPD’s School Resource Officer Mark Ketter recently participated in a meeting of the Office of Superintendents Public Instruction School Safety Advisory Committee, by invitation of Pierce County Emergency Management. SRO Ketter spoke about school safety, lock down procedures, active shooter response by officers, Run Hide Fight training, and other topics related to school safety.

Update on Victoria’s Secrets Robbery

On April 20, 2013, three suspects stole merchandise worth several thousand dollars from Victoria’s Secret in the South Hill Mall. The suspects fled after punching, kicking, and pepper spraying store employees. Detectives were able to identify and apprehend one of the suspects, who is from the Seattle/Everett area. The suspect was charged with robbery 2nd and pled guilty to a sentence deal of 53-70 months in state prison. The Puyallup Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit worked with three different police agencies, presented seven different photo montages, wrote eleven supplemental reports on this case, and made several trips to the Seattle/Everett area. Two others involved in the incident have yet to be identified. Special thanks to Detective Don Bourbon who was lead investigator on the case.

Puyallup Activity Center’s Annual Picnic

The Activity Center’s Annual Picnic was held on August 7th at the Pioneer Park Pavilion. The entertainment featured The Fabulous “Explosion Extravaganza” and the PAC’s very own Belly Dance Class featuring the “Sa’Diyah Dancers.” Both groups were a big hit with the crowd. The menu consisted of fried chicken, potato salad, rolls, chips, coffee, and juice. Special guests included Deputy Mayor John Knutsen, and City Councilmembers John Hopkins, Tom Swanson, and Steve Vermillion; who graciously donated their time to serve the meal to all of our seniors in attendance.

Historic Hood River Trip

On August 13th and 14th the Activity Center provided an overnight excursion to historic Hood River. Located at the crossroads of the spectacular Columbia River Gorge and the magnificent Cascade Range, Hood River is a scenic wonderland of natural beauty! The trip featured one night and two days discovering a world of outdoor recreation, dramatic vistas, historic landmarks, fantastic restaurants, and destination wineries.

Mark Your Calendars

· August 27 – Council Study Session, Council Chambers, 6:30 pm· September 2 – Labor Day Holiday, City Offices Closed· September 3 - City Council Meeting, Council Chambers, 6:30· September 6-22 – Washington State Fair· September 17 - City Council Meeting, Council Chambers, 6:30· September 24 - Council Study Session, Council Chambers, 6:30 pm· October 1 - City Council Meeting, Council Chambers, 6:30

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